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NEW DELHI: Country's largest carmaker Maruti
Suzuki India BSE -1.43 %</a> (MSI) today posted a 12.2 per cent rise in
total sales in August at 1,32,211 units as against 1,17,864 units in the same
month a year ago.

The company's domestic sales for the month
stood at 1,19,931 units, up 12.3 per cent from 1,06,781 units in August
2015.

Sales of mini segment cars, including, Alto and
WagonR, however, declined by 5.8 per cent to 35,490 units as compared to 37,665
units in the year-ago month, MSI said in a statement.

The company said sales of the compact segment
comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz, Dzire and Baleno increased by 9.9 per cent to
45,579 units in August this year as against 41,461 units in the year-ago
month.

MSI said sales of its compact sedan Dzire
Tour declined by 5.9 per cent during the month under review at 2,986 units as
against 3,172 units in August 2015.

Sales of mid sized sedan Ciaz rose 49.5 per
cent to 6,214 units during the month.

Sales of utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Grand
Vitara, Ertiga, S-Cross and recently launched compact SUV Vitara Brezza surged
over two-fold to 16,806 units in August this year from 7,836 units in the
corresponding month last year.

Sales of vans – Omni and Eeco -- rose 2.7 per
cent to 12,831 units in August this year as compared to 12,491 units in the
same month of the previous year.

Exports during the month rose 10.8 per cent
to 12,280 units as compared to 11,083 units in August last year, MSI said.

The company also sold 25 units of its light
commercial vehicle Super Carry during the month.

NEW DELHI: Petrol price was hiked on Wednesday by a steep Rs 3.38 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.67 a litre, reversing a two-month declining trend.

Petrol will cost Rs 63.47 a litre in Delhi from midnight tonight, up from Rs 60.09 a litre, said Indian Oil Corp, the nation's largest fuel retailer.

Similarly, a litre of diesel will cost Rs 52.94 a litre as against Rs 50.27.

The hike in fuel price, necessitated by a 13 per cent rise in international oil rates in the last fortnight, comes on the back of four reductions.

Rates were last cut by Rs 1 per litre in case of petrol and Rs 2 in diesel on August 16. The four reductions in last two months had led to the price of petrol in Delhi coming down by Rs 5.56 a litre and Rs 4.92 per litre in case of diesel.

"During the current fortnight, crude oil prices in the international market have witnessed a steep increase by 13 per cent (over USD 5 per barrel) compared to previous fortnight, with a corresponding increase in the international prices of petroleum products.

"The current level of international prices warrant an increase in prices of petrol and diesel, the impact of which is being passed on to the consumers," IOC said in a statement.

IOC and other state-owned fuel retailers, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) revise petrol and diesel price on 1st and 16th of every month based on international oil rate and foreign exchange ratio in the preceding fortnight.

"The movement of prices in the international oil market and Rupee-US Dollar exchange rate shall continue to be monitored closely and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes," IOC added.

NEW DELHI: Jeep,
the iconic US automobile brand that on Tuesday entered India officially with
SUVs costing upwards of Rs 70 lakh, has plans to locally make vehicles that are
being developed with the Indian buyer in mind. With the price tag expected to
be as low as Rs 10 lakh, these models in the works will be pitched against the
likes of Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Hyundai Creta and Ford EcoSport.

Italian-American
automaker Fiat Chrysler's plan is to build the Jeep brand in India initially
with luxury vehicles such as the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee, and then roll out
the locally made models. The Delhi showroom price of the Wrangler it launched
on Tuesday is Rs 71.59 lakh. The Grand Cherokee costs Rs 93 lakh to Rs 1.14
crore. Both are imported as completely built units.

According to
five people in the know of the company's plans, a C-segment Jeep, which is
internally codenamed 556, is expected to be launched around August next year
and exported to several right-hand drive markets as well from India.

It is likely
to be benchmarked against the BMW X1 and priced at Rs 15-20 lakh. Then, there
will be a more ambitious B-segment Jeep SUV internally codenamed 526,
stretching less than four meters and costing upwards of Rs 10 lakh, giving
direct competition to the Vitara Brezza and EcoSport.

The company
confirmed the plan to produce the C Jeep from 2017, but didn't comment on
products beyond that. Kevin Flynn, managing director of Fiat Chrysler India,
declined to comment on specific price points for localised Jeep, but said:
"The locally made Jeep will be attainable for a significant part of the
market."

On the
potential of exporting vehicles from India, Flynn said: "We are optimistic
and believe that India still wants to leverage its strengths and stands behind
its Make in India programme and being a much sought after manufacturing
location.

" $280 million investment so far

The company
has already brought in two vehicle line directors from Italy and the localised
project is taking concrete shape. The first few hundred units of the C Jeep
will be made by the end of the year and Fiat will test those before rolling it
out of the manufacturing line in Ranjangaon on the outskirts of Pune from the
second half of 2017.

The company
has so far invested $280 million (Rs 1,880 crore) in the new factory to produce
the premium Jeep models. The vehicles will be sold through 10 outlets.

Fiat
Chrysler is likely to position the B-segment Jeep at a little premium over
existing sub-4 metre SUVs such as the EcoSport and Vitara Brezza and below the
likes of Creta and Mahindra Scorpio. The vehicle will be packaged with loads of
features.

"The
smaller B Jeep is a mini-Renegade SUV and it is created largely for markets
like India. The company is planning on annual volumes of about 40,000 to 50,000
units, with some portfolio going to exports market," said a person
involved with the company, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Gaurav
Vangaal, senior analyst for forecasting at IHS Automotive, said after the India-made
Ford EcoSport's success in the developed world, Jeep's plans of exporting
premium vehicle from India is another feather in the cap of the country as a
manufacturing base.

"The
quality of vehicles made in India is second to none and it is being duly
rewarded by global carmakers, who are bringing in compact premium vehicles,
especially SUVs. The plan not only enables them to tap the large Indian market,
but by combining exports volumes, it allows companies to enjoy economies of
scale and pass on the benefit through attractive pricing," he said.

The variant
will come in two trims -- priced at Rs 5.94 lakh and Rs 6.86 lakh
respectively.

"Since
its launch, Swift has been one of the best performers in our portfolio and
helped us strengthen leadership in premium hatchback segment...Swift Deca
carries forward the sportiness and performance quotient associated with the
brand," R S Kalsi, Executive Director, Marketing &amp; Sales, Maruti
Suzuki said.

NEW DELHI: The auto industry suffered a loss of Rs 4,000 crore in 8 months following the ban on sale of diesel vehicles in engine capacity of 2,000cc and above in Delhi/NCR, SIAM President Vinod Dasari said today.
The Supreme Court, however, had earlier this month lifted the ban on the registration of such diesel vehicles with one per cent environment cess.
Speaking at the 58th Annual Session of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), Dasari said it was "improper information" supplied to the courts which led to the ban on diesel vehicles.
"Led by media hype, provided with improper information, the courts decided to ban those vehicles which actually meet the standards set by the government. It is for the first time that when you meet the law you actually get penalised. The auto industry has lost Rs 4,000 crore in the last eight months," the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) president said.
He said that everyone wanted to regulate the auto industry without looking at the real cause of pollution.
The Supreme Court had on December 16, 2015 banned the registration of diesel vehicles with an engine capacity of 2000cc and above in Delhi/NCR, citing concerns with regard to increasing air pollution in the national capital. We recommend this video by Venturist VENTURIST MEDIA INC. Recommended By Colombia
"It's a matter of great pride that the auto sector provides 30 million jobs and accounts for 50 per cent of the manufacturing GDP and yet it is rather sad when there is congestion, then auto industry is blamed; when there is pollution, auto industry is blamed and when there is an accident auto industry is blamed," Dasari said.
Dasari, MD of Ashok Leyland, added: "I feel everyone wants to regulate the auto industry. Let's take the Delhi example. Every winters when there is fog, there is a lot of media hype, lots of NGOs get involved and they blame one industry; everyone wants to blame auto industry."
He said that less than 20 per cent pollution comes from the auto industry.
He added that the auto industry has several times asked the government to ban old vehicles if it wants to reduce pollution.
"Ban vehicles that cause pollution," Dasari said.
He further said the move to ban would not help in reducing pollution in the capital.
"After all of this what happened. There is environmental cess, for vehicles that are larger than 2,000 cc, of 1 per cent. People who buy such vehicles... are they going to stop buying these due to this one per cent cess? Is that going to have an impact on Delhi pollution?" Dasari noted.
He said the auto industry needs to work on its rebuilding it's image. "I see it as a challenge, this is where the auto industry and components industry will have to work together to rebuild our image to provide right kind of feedback," Dasari said.
Source: Diesel vehicles ban: Auto industry lost Rs 4,000 crore in 8 months